Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Tuesday called on the international community to stand united and act together to defend, revitalize and strengthen the United Nations (UN).

Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, made the remarks while presiding over a Security Council high-level meeting on upholding the purposes and principles of the UN Charter and strengthening the UN-centered international system.

Wang said the current international situation is undergoing the most complex and profound changes seen since the Second World War, stressing that the challenges confronting the world today test the international community's conviction to safeguard peace, its resolve to uphold justice, and its courage to pursue reform and innovation.

"We must unite and take action to uphold, revitalize and strengthen the United Nations," he said.

The Chinese foreign minister called for revitalizing the UN Charter to demonstrate stronger leadership, revitalizing the authority of the Security Council to demonstrate stronger capacity for action, revitalizing international development cooperation to harness stronger mobilization capabilities, revitalizing global governance platforms to foster stronger implementation capabilities, and revitalizing the effectiveness of the UN system to cultivate greater vitality.

Wang noted that over the 55 years since the restoration of the lawful seat of the People's Republic of China in the United Nations, China, as a permanent member of the Security Council, has actively participated in and advanced the cause of the UN.

Standing at a new historical starting point, China will continue to uphold justice and pursue the righteous path, fostering greater solidarity with all nations under the banner of multilateralism, promoting the construction of a more just and equitable global governance system, and jointly marching toward the goal of building a community with a shared future for humanity.

Also on Tuesday, Wang held separate meetings with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, and the foreign ministers of Bahrain and Indonesia, and exchanged greetings with high-level representatives from other participating nations, including Nicaragua and Kazakhstan.

The Security Council high-level meeting was convened at the initiative of China, the rotating president of the Security Council for May, and attended by representatives from over 100 countries, including more than 20 foreign ministers and high-level delegates. The UN secretary-general delivered a briefing on the current international situation.